


For Want of a Crepe

by vivvav



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, The AFR Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 02:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14227527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivvav/pseuds/vivvav
Summary: The mission to infiltrate Madarame's Palace leaves Ann broke. Unable to get new modeling gigs, she slowly starts to go mad the longer she goes without a crepe, and the other Phantom Thieves learn just how terrifying their bubbliest member can be.





	For Want of a Crepe

It had been a tiring day for sure. Not only had Ann wandered around the city in a bajillion layers of clothes, but she had to try and pull off some non-cognitive infiltration with her terrible acting skills, been thrown into the Metaverse, and watched as the Phantom Thieves gained a new team member. Once it was all over, she headed straight home. But when night fell and it was time to change into her pajamas, she realized what a huge mistake she’d made.

“It’s all gone…”

90% of Anne’s wardrobe was gone. She still had her school uniforms, all her underwear, her shoes and accessories, and some of her more formal dresses, but her casual everyday clothes were gone. Tank tops, tee shirts, leggings, jackets, shorts, all of it left behind in Yusuke’s studio where she had slowly removed them as a stalling tactic. The others had told her wearing a few dozen outfits at once was overkill, but she had been so insistent on avoiding actually getting naked by any means possible. And she didn’t think she was wrong to want that, but with the way she had to flee from that rickety old shack, Ann began to wonder if she could’ve gone about it smarter. Surely an extra sweater and a jacket would’ve been enough stalling before dropping the idea of finding a room with a lock, right?

Ann knew she’d had to get all those clothes back from Yusuke. She pulled out her phone and texted him.

> Ann: Hey Yusuke, are you awake?
> 
> Yusuke: Good evening Ann. No need to worry.
> 
> Yusuke: I am wide awake. In spite of my exhaustion, today’s exciting events make it difficult to find any slumber.
> 
> Ann: That’s great. Not that you can’t sleep, but I need to ask you something.
> 
> Yusuke: What is it? Is it related to the Palace?
> 
> Ann: Not exactly. It’s about my clothes.
> 
> Yusuke: If you’re asking for my artistic eye in picking your wardrobe tomorrow, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.
> 
> Ann: Not like that! I’m talking about the clothes I left behind at your place when I had to run!
> 
> Ann: I want them back!
> 
> Yusuke: I see. That may be a problem…
> 
> Yusuke: Madarame threw them out shortly after you left.
> 
> Ann: WHAT!?
> 
> Ann: Why did you let him do that!?
> 
> Yusuke: I tried to stop him, but I did not feel up to the task of standing up to him in light of the day’s events.
> 
> Yusuke: He said he wanted them gone so I would not be tempted to chase you and betray him.
> 
> Ann: Well this is just great! Now I’ve gotta replace my entire wardrobe!
> 
> Yusuke: I am sorry this happened, Ann.
> 
> Ann: You bet you are! I’m only in this situation because you wanted me to pose naked for you!
> 
> Ann: You’re buying me all new clothes, mister!
> 
> Yusuke: I’m afraid that’s impossible. I barely have two yen to rub together.

Ann grumbled. It wasn’t Yusuke’s fault she was in this situation. In one day the guy had gone from the proud apprentice of Japan’s greatest artist to realizing the full extent of the abuse he and many others before him had endured.

> Ann: Fine. Don’t worry about it.
> 
> Yusuke: Are you sure? I feel I should make some endeavor to make things up to you.
> 
> Ann: Really, it’s fine. You just rest up so you can be ready for the Palace.
> 
> Yusuke: Very well then. Good night, Ann.
> 
> Ann: Good night, Yusuke.

* * *

Ann skipped the Palace the next day. The guys agreed to help Yusuke train by tackling the earlier parts of the museum they’d already infiltrated, letting him get a feel for sneaking around and fighting Shadows. She felt bad about not being there to support the other Phantom Thieves, but she needed to buy clothes and fast. Ann went on a full-blown shopping spree across Harajuku, replacing dozens of lost articles of clothing with exact matches, and finding new pieces to replace the stuff no longer in production. When all was said and done, Ann had spent over 70,000 yen, practically all of her savings. The only money she had left was on the emergency credit card her parents had supplied her with. She passed by a crepe stand and was certainly tempted, but just couldn’t justify using the emergency card on that. If she did, she’d get a call from her dad reading her the riot act, and that wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. And so, even though all that shopping had drained her and she could REALLY use the energy boost, she decided to forgo her favorite treat.

_“Hang in there, girl. You'll get another modeling gig soon enough.”_

* * *

“What do you mean there are no requests!?” Ann yelled into her phone.

“I’m sorry Ann-Chan” the representative from the agency said. “We’re trying to find you something, but lately all of the requests have been for Mika-Chan. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Alright, thanks.” Ann grumbled as she put her phone away, arriving at the overpass where the others were already waiting. They gave her a wary look.

“Are you ok?” Ren asked. “You seem upset about something.”

“It’s just my job again” Ann said. “That bitch Mika is up to her usual tricks, so I can’t get any work.”

“Whoa!” Ryuji laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call another girl ‘bitch’ before, Takamaki! This Mika must be a royal pain in the ass!”

“I’ve met her” Ren said. “She’s a character, all right.”

“A troublesome model who inspires anger in others…” Yusuke stared down at his feet in thought. “She sounds like she would be a fascinating subject for a painting.”

“Don’t you even think about it!” Ann glared at Yusuke. “I forbid you to paint her, Yusuke!”

“That’s enough chatter, everyone!” Morgana jumped out of Ren’s bag and gave the group a stern look. “Instead of upsetting Lady Ann further, let’s work on securing the route to Madarame’s Treasure!”

* * *

The group got a lot further in the Palace than they intended to, largely thanks to Ann. She was more fired up than usual, tearing through Shadows with a ferocity Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana hadn’t seen since she fought Kamoshida’s Shadow. The downside to this was that Ann was completely out of control. Apparently when seeing red, she wasn’t very good at distinguishing friend from foe, and Ren made an executive decision to call it a day when she nearly killed Yusuke with a fire spell. It took more than a few of Takemi’s pills to bring Yusuke back to something resembling decent physical condition, and once they were finally out of the Metaverse Ann apologized profusely.

“Seriously guys, I’m so, so sorry.” Ann’s head was bowed low, her eyes still pointed at the ground. “I don’t know what all of that was. I’ve just got all this frustration and I thought fighting would be the way to get it out, but obviously that’s not working.”

“It’s ok, Ann” Ren said. “We all get like that sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Ryuji said, “I’m pissed like, all the time. Nobody died, so it’s all good.”

“I’ll always forgive you, Lady Ann” Morgana said. “Whatever mistakes you might have made, we know you didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I would be lying if I claimed I was entirely ok” Yusuke said. “But at the same time, I cannot deny that there was a certain tragic beauty in facing a fireball launched at me by my own comrade. Perhaps I can use the memory as inspiration for a work somewhere down the line. Overall, I believe it will have been good that I had that experience.”

“Morgana,” Ren asked, “are we getting close to the treasure?”

“Oh yeah! Real close!” Morgana climbed back into the bag. “I can feel it! Next time we go in there we’ll have our route for sure!”

“In that case, let’s all take a few days off from Phantom Thieving” Ren said. “It’ll give us all time to cool down and recover, and I have some preparations I need to take care of anyway.”

“Sounds good.” Ann yawned. “I think I’m gonna head home now. I really gave it my all today.”

“Later, Ann.” Ren waved as she walked away.

* * *

Ann stomped down Central Street, each footstep shaking the ground around her. Most of the passerby fled in terror as she made her path straight to her favorite crepe stand. The chef remained at his station, knees shaking as his most frequent and ravenous customer made her approach.

“G-good afternoon, Ann-Ch-Chan” the chef said. “I r-regret to inform you th-that-“

“CREPES!” Ann yelled. “NOW!”

“Th-The thing about that is…” the chef was trembling even harder. “I’m afraid th-that I can’t make any crepes at the moment. The st-stove is broken and I can’t c-cook the batter without a flame.”

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Ann’s fists clenched as she heard the obnoxious laugh of her rival. She turned on her heel to see Mika smirking at her.

“Oh, cheer up, Ann- _Senpai…_ ” The word ‘Senpai’ slid off Mika’s tongue with such heavy condescension Ann half-expected the pavement in front of her to crack as if an actual physical weight was falling out of the other model’s mouth. “Just think of it as a new fitness regimen! Maybe now you can be a half-decent model!”

Ann’s fury swelled to new heights, and the next thing she knew, a familiar red mask had materialized on her face. She turned around to the chef.

“You said you couldn’t make crepes without a flame, right?”

“Th-that’s correct.” The chef had ducked down, just his eyes peeking over his counter.

Ann turned back to Mika, tearing off her mask and summoning Carmen. Before the other model would react, Agilao had been cast and Ann’s tormentor was caught on fire, rolling on the ground screaming. Ann turned back to the chef.

“START COOKING.”

The chef scrambled out from his stand fearfully, armed with a pan and a bottle of batter. He squeezed it into the pan and held it over the immolated teenager, the liquid starting to turn into the familiar pastry Ann loved so. She closed her eyes and took a whiff of the familiar smell, a spot of heaven in the chaos she had caused.

When Ann opened her eyes, there was no crepe smell. She was not on Central Street, but in her room. The girl she hated was not on fire or anywhere nearby at all, and her pillow and pajama top were covered in drool.

Ann let out a very loud groan.

* * *

“So why are we having lunch under the bleachers?”

Ann was not in a good mood. And being dragged all the way outside was not helping things. It wasn’t summer yet, but it was inordinately hot, and the shade the bleachers provided was offset by the threat of being burned if Ann let herself touch the metal seating that had been sitting out in the sun all day.

“Phantom Thief business” Ren said. He rummaged through his bag. “I promised Ryuji I’d train with him after school today, so I’m giving this to you now.”

Ren pulled out a short baton made out of metal segments and handed it to Ann. She turned it around in her hand, confused.

“What is it?”

“It’s a new whip.”

“Ren, this is a stick, not a whip. This looks like something Ryuji would use.”

“Check this out.”

Ren pressed a button on the base of the handle and pulled the tip of the baton. The top segment started to extend out, pulling along a barbed wire from the rest of the item. He released the button and it retracted back into itself.

“Wow!” Ann’s eyes widened. “That looks dangerous!”

“Iwai calls it the ‘Skin Ripper’. It’ll hurt Shadows more than that old training whip we found in Madarame’s Palace.” Ren held out his hand. “I’ll take that off your hands now, by the way.”

“Yeah, sure.” Ann reached into her bag and handed Ren the coiled-up whip she’d been using recently. “Are you sure I need a new weapon so soon though? Yusuke’s the newest one of us, are you sure you don’t wanna get him some new equipment?”

“Yusuke’s swordsmanship speaks for itself.” Ren put the old whip in his bag. “Besides, I figured since you seem so gung-ho about fighting lately, you’d appreciate the upgrade.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not exactly like I’ve become some warrior princess or anything.” Ann sighed. “I’ve just been pissed off lately.”

“By Mika?” Ren raised his eyebrow. “Has she really gotten that bad? You weren’t letting her get to you like this before.”

“No, not her.” Ann blushed a little. “Look, this is kind of embarrassing to admit, but you’re my friend so I’m gonna tell you…”

* * *

“She’s going through crepe withdrawal.”

“You messin’ with me.”

“Nope. Dead serious.”

Ren and Ryuji took a break from their run, sitting down on the ground and leaning against the school’s wall.

“That’s what she told me” Ren said. “She spent all her money on clothes and can’t afford crepes until she gets a new modeling gig, but work’s dried up so the problem’s not solving itself anytime soon.”

“I don’t get it.” Ryuji scratched his head. “Aren’t her parents rich fashion designers? Don’t they leave her money for food?”

“Ann’s live-in caretaker Meiko handles all the grocery shopping.”

“That’s a good idea.” Ryuji shook his head. “If Ann was left to buy whatever she wanted, she’d eat nothin’ but desserts.”

“This is getting pretty serious, Ryuji.” Ren’s face was filled with worry. “Ann hasn’t been acting like herself all week. I think I should just buy her a crepe and fix this whole mess.”

“You can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because Ann’s got an addiction, and you’re not doin’ her any favors by feedin’ it!”

“But it’s hurting the team. Yusuke almost died!”

“Yeah, but we don’t take care of it by enabling her!” Ryuji stood up, looking down at Ren. “We gotta hold an intervention! We grab Ann, sit her down, tie her up if we gotta, and get her to kick her need for crepes!”

“That sounds pretty extreme. Don’t you think we-“

Ren was cut off by the sound of his phone buzzing. He looked at it to see a text from Ann.

> Ann: Hey, you’re with Ryuji right now, right?

“Huh.” Ren started typing out a response. “Speak of the devil.”

> Ren: Yeah. What’s up?
> 
> Ann: When you guys are done exercising can you stop by my house? I need to show you guys something important.

“I can swing by.” Ren showed Ryuji the screen. “What about you?”

“I dunno…” Ryuji scratched his chin. “Ann’s never asked me to come over to her place before. I know where she lives, but it seems suspicious.”

“Ryuji, it’s Ann.” Ren snickered as he put his phone away. “Even if she has been acting crazy lately, I don’t think she’d ask us over unless it was something really important.”

* * *

“Thanks for coming, guys!”

“No problem, but…” Ren cleared his throat, yelling over the washing machine running in Ann’s basement. “Why are we down here!?”

“I didn’t want Meiko to overhear us!” Ann yelled. “I need a favor from you guys!”

“What kind of favor!?” Ryuji shouted.

“I finally got a new gig!” Ann yelled. “I’m gonna be doing a new shoot this weekend!”

“That’s great!” Ren hollered.

“Yeah! But I’m not getting paid until Monday! And I’ve really been craving a crepe lately! Could one of you guys spot me!? I’ll pay you back when I get paid for my shoot!”

“That’s all!?” Ren yelled. “Why did we have to have a secret meeting for this!?”

“Meiko’s always teasing me about my love of sweets! I didn’t want her to bug me about this crepe thing!”

“Well, if that’s all, I don’t see any problem with-“

Ren stopped speaking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked towards the source to see Ryuji shaking his head with a grim expression. A silent conversation played out between them as they stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, which ended with Ren nodding and turning back to Ann.

“Sorry Ann!” Ren yelled. “I can’t help you!”

“Why not!?”

“We don’t have any money!” Ryuji yelled. “I just spent my last bit of cash on a new video game! I’m flat broke!”

“What about our Phantom Thief money!?” Ann shouted. “We can spare a couple hundred yen for a crepe, right!?”

“Sorry, no!” Ren yelled. The washing machine stopped, and he lowered his voice, speaking normally. “I spent the last of our operating funds on your new whip.”

“Oh.” Ann sulked for a second, then looked back up as if she just had an epiphany. “But wait! What about my old whip!? Couldn’t you sell that to the gun store guy and use the money to buy a crepe? Or we could go into Mementos and smack around a few Shadows until we get some yen!”

“I mean, we COULD do those things…” Ren looked to Ryuji again for reassurance. Ryuji gave him a thumbs up. “But I don’t think we should.”

“Why not!?”

“We’ve been talking, and we think you have a problem.”

“What!?”

“Your love of crepes is an effin’ addiction, Takamaki!” Ryuji put his hands on his hips. “You gotta get your shit together! You’re comin’ apart at the seams over a thin pancake and some chocolate!”

“No I’m not!”

“You kind of are” Ren said. “You’ve been surly at school.”

“You’re goin’ all aggro in the Metaverse.”

“You nearly turned Yusuke into barbecue.”

“You’re lettin’ your sweet tooth ruin your life and everyone else’s. We’re puttin’ a stop to it.”

“So, that’s it?” Ann spoke in a low voice. “You’re not going to help me with this?”

“We are, just not in the way you want” Ren said. “This is an intervention, Ann.”

“We’re doin’ this for your own good” Ryuji added.

“‘My own good’!?” Ann walked over to the door at the bottom of the stairs and locked it.

“Ann, what are you doin’?” Ryuji asked.

“I can’t take it anymore!” Ann reached into her pocket and pulled out the Skin Ripper.

“Ann, put that away!” Ren shouted.

“If you two aren’t gonna help me satisfy my craving, then you’re gonna help me work off all this crazy energy I’ve got!” Ann pressed the button on the handle, letting the whip extend to full length.

“Oh shit!” Ryuji jumped back as Ann swung the whip at him. “She’s completely lost it!”

“What do we do!?” Ren dove to the side to dodge the barbed wire.

“Extreme measures, dude!”

Ann chased the boys around the laundry room with the whip for a few minutes, guarding the door so they couldn’t escape. Upstairs, Meiko walked by the stairwell to the basement, but just assumed all the banging sounds were the washing machine still running. Finally, Ann’s swings started to get a little sloppy, and Ryuji took the opportunity to tackle her to the ground. Her body still in pain, he dragged her to a wooden chair in the corner of the room, and Ren took the old training whip still in his bag and wrapped it around her upper body, tying her to the chair.

“LET ME GO!” Ann screamed.

“Not until you calm down” Ryuji said.

“Look at the situation you’re in, Ann” Ren said. “Don’t you see how nuts this is!?”

“You think this is nuts!? This isn’t nuts!” Ann leaned forward, rising on her feet, the chair still tied to her back. Ann jumped backwards, slamming the chair into the wall, shattering it to pieces. The integrity of her imprisonment lost, the whip fell away from around her, setting her arms free. She gave the boys a frenzied look. “I’LL SHOW YOU NUTS!”

Ann lunged forward and grabbed Ryuji with both hands, lifting him above her head and slamming him down on top of the washing machine. He howled in pain as his back made contact with the metal surface. Despite her adrenaline rush, lifting a boy her size had taken a lot of energy out of Ann, and she lingered in front of the washing machine, panting heavily.

“Dude…” Ryuji turned his head towards Ren, wheezing out words. “Run.”

Ren stood there frozen, trying to comprehend what was going on in front of him.

“I said run, dude!” Ryuji’s breath started to return to him. “SHE’S GOT CRACK FIEND STRENGTH! RUN!”

Ren turned towards the door, trying to unlock it. As his nervous hands fumbled with the lock, he felt a slim hand grab his shoulder, the sound of labored breath behind him.

* * *

“That’s some shiner ya got, kid.” Iwai whistled as he accepted the whip from Ren, opening the cash register. “The guy who did that to ya must’ve been one big, mean, son of a bitch.”

“Shut up and give me the fucking money.” Ren spoke with all the urgency any man feeling those manic eyes trained on him through the shop’s window would. “I need to buy a goddamn crepe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to JuneLuxray for helping me bounce around ideas and Circuit for going into the game and taking video of what the Skin Ripper looked like. I tried searching all over the web but people just haven't made an archive of what all the different weapons look like.
> 
> Like Okumura Power Lifting, this is absolutely canon with my other works.


End file.
